The process of packing, tying up loose ends, and closing chapters have given me plenty of time to reflect on my time here. The West River Valley has shown me what makes a place special – the strength of its community. The community across our seven towns is something special. It is both strong and resilient, yet still welcoming and caring. This community truly bands together in an effort to improve the lives of all of its residents in the face of adversity in a way that I have never seen before.
Examples of this are not hard to come by. Community Hope and Action banded together in response to tragedies and is still carrying out great work putting on no-cost community events. The West River Valley Community Project supports our local farmers through its events, farmers market, and meals and those in need through its sliding payment scale and thrift store. West River Valley Mutual Aid is helping to not only deliver meals and rides for the homebound but is also working every day to make our community a little more inclusive. And who can forget our libraries? Each of our town’s libraries has been working nonstop to try to continue providing a much-needed third-space during the pandemic for young and old alike. There are simply too many groups doing great work to uplift our community to list – which is a fantastic problem to have. It was my pleasure to work with many of them as a partner and I know how valuable they are because I benefited greatly as a resident from many of these services.
Our community is full of characters. After all, the valley is full of people of pretty much every shape, belief, origin, and quirk. If you wanted to interview both a duck farmer and an aspiring heavy metal musician that you could probably just talk to a pair of neighbors at Pizza Night. This diverse array of talents, passions, and skills is what allows our community to Thrive. Whether you need a DJ or someone with in-depth turnip knowledge there is somebody here to connect with. The best part is, that these people are more than willing to share their unique gifts with our community – which is what allows our organizations and business to be so strong. From the staff at Leland & Gray to owners of our country stores, we are blessed to have a dedicated cohort of people willing to step up to the plate and do the work. I know that in my time with Thrives I had the honor of working with some of the hardest working and most caring people that I have ever had the privilege to work with.
One of my favorite things about the West River Valley is how there is always somebody willing to pick up the mantle. When one person leaves, retires, transitions away from doing community work here there are always 3 more people ready to step up. So while my chapter at Thrives is closing, I know that when the next page turns it will be full of adventure with a new protagonist ready to take on the challenge.
Jacob Deutsch – IronTriangleWrites@gmail.com